There Is Still Only One Taxpayer

And new taxes is a short lived solution because people/businesses will think twice about locating in the Toronto meaning the tax base shrinks while the overhead continutes. Service cuts/reduction are a start. I frequent a local park and there is a works crew there on a weekly basis cutting the grass....I think they could reduce it to once every two weeks. 50% reduction in grass cutting program! Just a start.....do we really need as many councilors? 50% reduction in wages and office budgets! Private garbage collection @ $65/tonne, city collection @$75/tonne. A no brainer. It goes on and on and while some will say this is nickles and dimes they do add up.

Ending Toronto's fiscal juggling act TheStar.com - comment - Ending Toronto's fiscal juggling act

June 20, 2007

Overcoming desperate times requires making hard choices, and these indeed are desperate times for Toronto's financial health.

With a city budget shortfall of $575 million looming next year, Toronto City Council must find new sources of money, at the same time it works aggressively to find new efficiencies in its existing operations.

Unavoidably, that means either imposing new taxes, raising old ones, killing programs, laying off workers, or a combination of these and other options. Any decision will be controversial. But if Toronto is to grow, not stagnate, then difficult decisions will have to be made.

To that end, the fate of Toronto's proposed new land transfer tax, which will be discussed Monday by the city's executive committee, may not be popular, but it does offer one way to deflect a crippling financial crisis that the city now faces. A report prepared by city staff recommends a municipal tax on the sale of homes and businesses. It would raise $300 million each year to help cover the chronic budget shortfall and support public transit and other urban infrastructure.

For years, Toronto has managed to balance its books by raiding reserve funds, borrowing money and chasing one-shot budget gimmicks such as selling its street lights and utility poles to Toronto Hydro. Those easy options are now all but exhausted. Meanwhile, Mayor David Miller has steadfastly refused to raise residential property rates much beyond the rate of inflation, compared to many 905 municipalities where property taxes sometimes have jumped 8 to 9 per cent.

And trying to find "fat" in the city's budget will be tough without major program cuts. Despite what critics claim, there are few "frills." Nearly two-thirds of the city's budget is allocated for police, fire, transit and provincially mandated programs the city must provide.

Furthermore, Queen's Park's refusal this spring to help Toronto indicates it can no longer be relied upon to rescue a failing budget.